It was a beautiful clear, cool, 68 degree morning. We had breakfast and did some chores around the bus. Bob moved the sending unit for our indoor thermometer so it would read more accurately. I did some laundry while Bob ran to the store for some potato salad for the cookout later this afternoon. By noon, the temp had warmed up to 78 degrees. We left for downtown Milwaukee at 2:00 to meet our good friends, Jan and Mark Krueger, (previously from Wisconsin and now from Florida) and their daughter-in-law, Kellie and son, Eric who keep a boat on the Menomonee River at Hansen’s Marina.
We drove past the American Family Field as we made our way downtown and the retractable dome was open.
Eric met us at the door and let us in. Our friends, Jan and Mark were already there. We were greeted by big hugs. The river was busy with boat traffic.
Boats of all kinds were traveling up and down the river. There were rental boats and kayaks, tour boats large and small.
There were boats of all sizes and shapes–sailboats and powerboats. There were 2 Paddle Tavern boats traveling up and down the river. Those were quite popular.
There was also this “doughnut boat”. It was so unusual, but it looked like fun.
We sat on the dock getting all caught up on what everyone’s been doing. The Kruegers left Florida on their trip to Wisconsin June 1 and we left on July 1. How ironic that we both end up so near to each other in Wisconsin and are able to get together.
After watching the action on the river for awhile, we took a drive on Eric and Kellie’s Beneteau.
The day turned out perfect. We pulled out of the slip and headed down the river and under the bridge.
Eric was at the helm and the rest of us got to enjoy the ride.
We drove out into the shipping channel, but stayed within the breakwater because the wind had picked up a little and it was too rough to go out into the lake. This Milwaukee Pierhead Lighthouse marked the entrance to the channel. It is an active lighthouse in the Milwaukee harbor. It opened in 1872 and became automated in 1939. The white building is the Milwaukee Breakwater Light. It was built in 1926 to mark the entrance to the harbor. It is the last fully enclosed breakwater lighthouse in the Great Lakes. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.
We drove north and south inside the breakwater. To the north, we passed the places along the shoreline that we had frequented a lot when we lived in town. This is a view of the Summerfest grounds from the water.
There was the Milwaukee Art Museum and War Memorial.
These are the museum’s signature wings which form a moveable sunscreen with a 217-foot wingspan. It is made up of 72 steel fins. It takes 3.5 minutes for the wings to open or close on a timed schedule. I have seen them open and it is quite a sight. We motored around McKinley Marina and could see the historic North Point Water Tower on the north side from where we were.
It was built in 1873 and 1874 as part of Milwaukee’s first public waterworks. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The Milwaukee skyline was beautiful from the water.
To the south, we motored towards the South Shore Marina. Boats were anchored along the shore enjoying the beautiful day. So were we! It was great to be on the water!
We returned to the river and docked the boat at their pier. We had to wait for all the kayakers and boats to get out of the way before we could pull into the slip. The river is a very busy place, especially on the weekends.
Back at the dock, Eric grilled some burgers and sweet corn, Kellie made the sides of fruit salad and fresh veggies with dip, we brought the potato salad, Jan brought the dessert, and we shared a delicious meal with good friends. It was a great end to a perfect day! Thanks Kellie and Eric for your hospitality and the boat ride. We’ll see Mark and Jan back in Florida in August when we return. Kellie and Eric will also be down for a visit in August, since they have purchased a home and will be full-time residents in Florida very soon. We left the marina after dinner as the action on the river started to wind down and the temps cooled off. Auggie was happy to see us and was waiting to eat his own dinner. He got his evening walk and we all relaxed watching a movie and then the ending of the Bucks playoff game #5. It was a nail-biter but we got the win. Way to go Bucks! On to game #6 in Milwaukee! The RV Park was full tonight with weekend travelers. An RV came in yesterday all the way from Alaska. It is always fun to see where people come from. Tomorrow is our last day in Milwaukee and we’ll have some packing up to do before our departure on Monday.